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A hotly debated subject indeed! You will find that each person seems to have a slightly different opinion...
The first thing I will point out are the counties that are connected to New York City by the "Metropolitan commuter transportation mobility tax" : New York (Manhattan), Bronx, Kings (Brooklyn), Queens, Richmond (Staten Island), Rockland, Nassau, Suffolk, Orange, Putnam, Dutchess, and Westchester. These counties all have NYC Commuter Trains with access to Grand Central or Penn Station or Secaucus Junction (->Penn Station).
Another factor supporting this picture....Stewart International Airport, in Orange County (spanning over portions of Montgomery, Hamptonburgh, New Windsor, and Newburgh), is owned and operated by the Port Authority.
Using the above idea, Orange County and any county SOUTH of should absolutely be considered downstate.
Downstate as defined by the New York State Dept of Tourism:
Westchester, Rockland, Orange, Putnam, and Southern Dutchess Counties along with the NYC / LI Counties.
Also, the National Weather Service NYC based in Upton, NY serves the following counties: Westchester, Rockland, Orange, and Putnam along with the NYC / LI Counties. These counties are climatically similar. Dutchess receives its forecasts from the Albany NWS office.
Based on what I've stated, I'd say this a fair approximation of upstate/downstate:
The areas below the line are more culturally connected than those above the line.
It might not be an opinion shared by all.. but I think there should be another line on your map.. Areas around Buffalo consider themselves Western New York more so then Upstate..
Location: Appalachian New York, Formerly Louisiana
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Originally Posted by Dreamshot
A hotly debated subject indeed! You will find that each person seems to have a slightly different opinion...
The first thing I will point out are the counties that are connected to New York City by the "Metropolitan commuter transportation mobility tax" : New York (Manhattan), Bronx, Kings (Brooklyn), Queens, Richmond (Staten Island), Rockland, Nassau, Suffolk, Orange, Putnam, Dutchess, and Westchester. These counties all have NYC Commuter Trains with access to Grand Central or Penn Station or Secaucus Junction (->Penn Station).
Another factor supporting this picture....Stewart International Airport, in Orange County (spanning over portions of Montgomery, Hamptonburgh, New Windsor, and Newburgh), is owned and operated by the Port Authority.
Using the above idea, Orange County and any county SOUTH of should absolutely be considered downstate.
Downstate as defined by the New York State Dept of Tourism:
Westchester, Rockland, Orange, Putnam, and Southern Dutchess Counties along with the NYC / LI Counties.
Also, the National Weather Service NYC based in Upton, NY serves the following counties: Westchester, Rockland, Orange, and Putnam along with the NYC / LI Counties. These counties are climatically similar. Dutchess receives its forecasts from the Albany NWS office.
Based on what I've stated, I'd say this a fair approximation of upstate/downstate:
The areas below the line are more culturally connected than those above the line.
I agree entirely with that map! I have always considered anything south of Poughkeepsie downstate NY.
As for the western NY comment, it's true, but western NY is part of upstate.
The regions of upstate NY are western/central/north country. Can also be broken down into overlapping sub regions. Ontario plains/Adirondacks/mohawk/upper Hudson/Catskills/southern tier (AKA Appalachian NY)/finger lakes and thousand islands.
Finger lakes, Catskills and southern tier all overlap.
Agree with the above. The Buffalo, Syracuse, and Albany Metros are all upstate but are also know as Western NY, Central NY, and "The Capital Region," respectively.
Agree with the above. The Buffalo, Syracuse, and Albany Metros are all upstate but are also know as Western NY, Central NY, and "The Capital Region," respectively.
Exactly.....There are subregions of the larger Upstate region of NY. Some might say that once you go into Westchester County, you are Upstate.
Granted, I'm not from New York, but from an outsider's perspective, I always thought Upstate was simply everything north of Westchester county. I was even surprised to learn that there are different regions too--like the "North Country"--and that Western New York isn't necessarily the same as Upstate. I learned this from wikipedia, so I don't know how true it is.
I love Upstate by the way. New York is truly a beautiful state.
Exactly.....There are subregions of the larger Upstate region of NY. Some might say that once you go into Westchester County, you are Upstate.
Many people that live in one of NYC's boroughs would likely tell you that anything North of the Bronx is upstate! I mean, there isn't that big of a difference between The Bronx and Yonkers...or the The Bronx and portions of Newburgh/Middletown/Poughkeepsie for that matter. When I am in The City of Newburgh it literally feels like I am in a really bad part of NYC (such as Brownsville, Brooklyn) ... its pretty scary.
I am an outsider also. I always thought "upstate" meant somewhere like the Schroon Lake area or the Adirondacks.
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